the subfield of epidemiology most relevant to viral outbreaks and COVID-19. Because of this, Feigl-Ding has been criticized for misrepresenting his qualifications to offer media commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic. Feigl-Ding has disclosed he is not sub-specialized in infectious diseases and claims to have never misrepresented himself as an infectious disease epidemiologist. Feigl-Ding's rapid rise to prominence as a TV and media commentator and expert during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite his lack of academic activity in infectious diseases, has led to much criticism and controversy. He received early criticism for offering public warnings on the COVID-19 pandemic as well as praise from David Wallace-Wells, editor-at-large at New York Magazine. A January 2020 article published by The Atlantic covered the early controversy of Feigl-Ding's social media presence. On March 26, Alexis Madrigal, its author, re-assessed his piece and stated that "it was right in the particulars and wrong on the big picture." While Feigl-Ding admits he has made mistakes, one of his supporters, Ali Nouri, the president of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a scientific think tank dedicated to science communication, attributed some of the criticism of Feigl-Ding down to stylistic differences in information dissemination. His tweets during the pandemic have also at times been criticized by other scientists as alarmist, misleading, or inaccurate. Political campaign Feigl-Ding was a candidate in the 2018 Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district. On February 27, 2018, Feigl-Ding announced his candidacy in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district. He campaigned on a progressive platform advocating for science, universal healthcare, and public health. During the run up to the election, Feigl-Ding did not take corporate PAC money. He received 18% of the vote to George Scott’s 36% in a 4-person primary. Awards and recognition Feigl-Ding's graduate studies were supported by the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans (2008). He was recognized by Craigslist founder Craig Newmark as one of “16 People and Organizations Changing the World in 2012”. He was invited to join the Global Shapers program of the World Economic Forum, and joined in February 2013. He received the CUGH's Global Health Project of the Year Prize in 2014, and the American Heart Association's Scott Grundy Excellence Award in 2015. He was named in 2018 as a Web of Science 'Highly Cited Researcher', among the top 1% most cited scientists worldwide, and among the 186 top cited scientists at